Appeal No. 2006-0743 5
Reexamination Control No. 90/006,690
A. Rejection of claims 1-4, 7, 8, 10-20, 22 and 23
1. Claim 1
Gager discloses a presence detector system for use within a vehicle of the type having a
trunk which is selectively movable between an open and a closed position. The system detects
the presence of a breathing individual within the trunk and includes a presence detector located
in the trunk. See Figure 1; col. 2, lines 35-42. The presence detector may be a motion sensor, a
heat sensor, a sonic sensor or a combination of one or more such sensors. See col. 2, lines 52-56.
Upon detection of motion in the trunk, the system causes activation of one or more functions
selected from the group consisting of a vehicle operator alert, vehicle headlights, a vehicle horn,
a vehicle alarm, a self-contained alarm, a trunk lid release and a trunk light. See col. 2,
lines 4-10. Gager does not disclose that the presence detector may be a breathing detector as
recited in appellant’s claim 1.
Federspiel discloses a method and apparatus for measuring the rate at which carbon
dioxide is generated by individuals in an enclosed space of a building. See col. 2, line 62-col. 3,
line 19. According to one embodiment of the invention, a controller activates an alarm when
someone enters a room in response to a change in the carbon dioxide generated. See col. 11,
lines 5-20.
The examiner concludes (Answer at 4):
Since Gager discloses a device used to detect the presence of a person within the
trunk of a vehicle, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to
incorporate a breathing detector, as the carbon dioxide detection disclosed by
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